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BARRIE — As much as we like to shout “you grill girls,” a recent study confirms it’s guys who truly take control of the barbecue tongs.

In fact, according to a new report studying barbecue habits of North Americans, males continue to reign in the fiery realm of the grill.

The study found the male head of the household is more often the one who makes the decision to use a grill, prepares the food and actually does the work on the grill.

“Grilling has traditionally been a guy thing, and this research confirms the anecdotal evidence many of us have seen in our own homes for years,” said David Coulson of Barrie-based Napoleon Fireplaces and Grills, a family-owned Canadian company, that has been providing home comfort for over 35 year.

“Having said that, the study shows there are also a lot of households out there where both spouses are content to share the tongs.”

The online survey, conducted last summer, looked at the way people in Canada and the U.S., typically use gas, electric and charcoal grills to prepare meals, as well as what features they’re looking for when they buy them.

The survey, conducted on behalf of Napoleon Fireplaces and Grills, indicates the male head of the household cooks about 73% of the meals on gas grills, 72% on charcoal grills and 66% on electric grills.

Women account for 24% of the cooking on gas grills, 22% on charcoal grills and 32% with electric grills.

While most men like to be hands-on at the grill, a smaller number of them share a hand in the food preparation.

The survey found men prepare the food 58% of the time for gas grilling, 55% for charcoal grills and 50% for electric grills.

This compares to women who handle food prep 39% of the time for gas grilling, 40% for charcoal grills and 49% for meals made on electric grills.

Men generally make the final call when it comes to whether or not to grill a meal.

The survey indicates men typically make the decision 60% of the time for gas grilling, 63% of the time for charcoal grilling and 56% of the time for electric grills.

Women make the call 36% of the time for gas grilling, 33% of the time for charcoal grilling and 43% of the time for electric grilling.

No matter who actually exercises their grill skills to cook the meal, the job of firing up the equipment usually falls to the man of the house, the survey found.

Men said they light gas grills 78% of the time compared to 20% for women.

Men ignite charcoal grills 77% of the time, compared to 18% for women.

“It’s extremely important for us to know how people typically use their grills and barbecues so we can tailor our products and services to our customers habits,” Coulson said.